Tag: Parliamentary Question

Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-10-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to encourage other NATO member states to honour their commitment to spend two per cent of GDP on defence.

Michael Fallon

Ministry of Defence Ministers, officials and I regularly raise the two per cent commitment during discussions with Allies. I reminded my counterparts at the NATO Defence Ministers Meeting in October that we have committed to spending two per cent of our GDP on defence and security every year of this decade and we have historically been one of the few Allies to invest 20 per cent of our budget in major equipment.

December 1, 2022
Tom Brake – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2015-10-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what safeguards he plans to introduce as part of his proposed fixed-cost regime changes to the Civil Procedure Rules to ensure that changes are fair to any side in civil litigation and do not harm access to justice.

Ben Gummer

We are planning to consult on the introduction of the fixed cost regime for clinical negligence claims where the damages awarded to claimants are less than £250,000. This forms part of our over-arching objective to minimise adverse incidents and provide an efficient, cost-effective approach to litigation. In doing this we are seeking to improve patient care by reducing the incidence of clinical negligence, improve customer care by ensuring the National Health Service is responsive to users; and ensure there is an appropriate and cost effective legal process in place for claimants and defendants.

In advance of this work a pre-consultation exercise was undertaken with a wide range of bodies representing the views of patients, lawyers, bar organisations, professional bodies, NHS organisations, private healthcare providers and Welsh interests. Issues raised by these organisations included: access to justice, impact of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012; patient safety; and the avoidance of unnecessary costs in clinical negligence cases. These views will be rehearsed in the proposed consultation document and will inform decisions that are made following the consultation exercise. Respondents will have the opportunity to provide comments on the proposals, which we have been developing with the Civil Procedure Rules Committee.

December 1, 2022
Barry Sheerman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-10-26.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will ensure that the science budget will be maintained in real terms.

Greg Hands

This Government has made a long term science capital commitment investing £6.9bn in the UK’s research infrastructure up to 2021.

Future allocations for science resource funding will be determined at the forthcoming Spending Review.

December 1, 2022
Imran Hussain – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2015-10-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what estimate her Department has made of the number of people under the age of 18 displaced by the conflict in Yemen.

Mr Desmond Swayne

The UN reports that the number of people displaced internally in Yemen is 2.3 million; of those, the UN estimates that 21% are boys under the age of 18, and 22% are girls under the age of 18. The UN does not have age-disaggregated data for refugees who have fled from Yemen.

The UK is one of the largest donors to the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, and has announced a £75 million commitment. UK aid is providing vital medical supplies, water, food and emergency shelter, including for internally displaced people and children.

December 1, 2022
Liz McInnes – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz McInnes on 2015-10-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many visits fire and rescue services made to schools in 2013-14.

Mike Penning

I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Home Office.

Fire and rescue services reported that they undertook around 627,000 Home Fire Safety checks during 2013-14.

Data are also collected on fire safety campaigns and initiatives. These include, but do not separate out, schools visits.

December 1, 2022

Sadiq Khan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2015-10-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many British Transport Police officers in London were contracted to work night shifts as at 1 October (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012, (d) 2013, (e) 2014 and (f) 2015.

Claire Perry

The table below sets out the number of British Transport Police (BTP) officers working in Greater London (all London boroughs) on 1 October in each year between 2010 and 2015:

2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
1,715	1,638	1,643	1,608	1,592	1,732

The table below sets out the number of officers in Greater London (all London boroughs) which were contracted to work night shifts as at 1 October in each year between 2010 and 2015:

2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
46	49	53	55	52	57

All BTP officers could potentially be rostered on to night shifts if necessary.

The table below sets out the number of BTP officers that were working night shifts in Greater London (all London Boroughs) on each day of September 2015:


01 September 2015	49
02 September 2015	62
03 September 2015	64
04 September 2015	61
05 September 2015	62
06 September 2015	59
07 September 2015	62
08 September 2015	61
09 September 2015	59
10 September 2015	57
11 September 2015	60
12 September 2015	61
13 September 2015	61
14 September 2015	57
15 September 2015	50
16 September 2015	60
17 September 2015	59
18 September 2015	59
19 September 2015	58
20 September 2015	57
21 September 2015	58
22 September 2015	57
23 September 2015	61
24 September 2015	62
25 September 2015	63
26 September 2015	60
27 September 2015	61
28 September 2015	58
29 September 2015	61
30 September 2015	55

It is important to note that the number of officers contracted and due to work night shifts would have increased if the night tube had not been deferred.

December 1, 2022

Kate Osamor – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Osamor on 2015-10-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will take steps to encourage Saudi Arabia to destroy its stock of cluster munitions.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The Convention on Cluster Munitions obliges States Parties to promote adherence to the Convention, and to encourage non-States Parties to accede to it. The UK, in line with these Convention commitments, encourages all states not party to accede to the Convention as soon as possible to further prevent the use, development, production, acquisition, stockpiling, retention and transfer of cluster munitions. The UK continues to encourage Saudi Arabia to accede to the Convention both bilaterally and in multinational fora.

December 1, 2022
Kevan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2015-10-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what hospitality was provided to (a) Ministers and officials of his Department and (b) members of the armed forces by Raytheon in the last 12 months.

Mr Philip Dunne

I attended a dinner hosted by Raytheon on 21 January 2015. No further Ministers, Senior Military personnel or Ministry of Defence officials have received any other form of hospitality.

December 1, 2022
Kelvin Hopkins – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kelvin Hopkins on 2015-10-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of the railway is able to accommodate the transport of full-sized lorry trailers on trains.

Claire Perry

The only railway infrastructure in Britain that can accommodate a rail freight service carrying lorry trailers is HS1 between the Channel Tunnel and Barking, which can carry the standard international 4 metres semi-trailer. It represents 0.75% per cent of Britain’s rail route mileage.

The 80% of the UK domestic semi-trailer fleet with a height of 4.25 metres or greater cannot be accommodated on trains in Britain. However, container goods can be accepted across the freight network, which carries some 1 million containers – 30% of total container freight in the UK – a year.

December 1, 2022
Earl Attlee – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Earl Attlee on 2015-10-23.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 22 October (HL2256), why 150 Recovery Company, part of 103 Battalion Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, relocated from the Army Reserve Centre at Redhill to the one at Croydon, in the light of the fact that the related infrastructure developments had not progressed past the initial assessment phase.

Earl Howe

The relocation of 150 Company from Redhill to Croydon was part of the redesign of the Army Reserve as part of Future Reserves 2020 and Army 2020. In this case the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers were realigned to better integrate the Reserve component with their Regular Army partners. It also sought to maximise the potential for future recruitment, which in some cases necessitated the relocation of smaller units and sub-units.

While it was recognised that the infrastructure of the Croydon Army Reserve Centre required some improvement, it was deemed no worse than that at Redhill Army Reserve Centre. Therefore, an early move was agreed to realise the wider benefit of an increased recruiting footprint, thus ensuring that 103 Battalion REME could grow in strength and maintain the critical mass necessary for effective training and therefore operational capability

December 1, 2022